| In SDNY Berman Says He Will
Leave Since Barr Says Deputy Strauss Will
Replace Him
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 20 – Geoffrey S. Berman
was late June 19 announced to
be leaving as U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of
New York - not by himself but
by the DOJ, which said Jay
Clayton of the SEC would be
nominated to replace Berman.
But right
after, Berman said he "has not
resigned," and will not until
a “presidentially appointed
nominee is confirmed by the
Senate."
Then
June 20, Attorney General Barr
wrote to Berman,
"Unfortunately, with your
statement of last night, you
have chosen public spectacle
over public service... I have
asked the President to remove
you as of today, and he has
done so." Audrey Strauss will
now be temporary acting U.S.
attorney. Barr noted that he
had offered Berman other
positions in the
administration, including head
of the Civil Division at Main
Justice.
Berman
declined the offer and was
subsequently fired. But by
Trump? He says he was not
involved.
But Barr said
Deputy US Attorney Strauss
would take over. And that
seems to have been enough. At
5:55 pm from Berman, this:
"“In light of Attorney General
Barr’s decision to respect the
normal operation of law and
have Deputy U.S. Attorney
Audrey Strauss become Acting
U.S. Attorney, I will be
leaving the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Southern
District of New York,
effective immediately.
It has been the honor of a
lifetime to serve as this
District’s U.S. Attorney and a
custodian of its proud legacy,
but I could leave the District
in no better hands than
Audrey’s. She is the
smartest, most principled, and
effective lawyer with whom I
have ever had the privilege of
working. And I know that
under her leadership, this
Office’s unparalleled AUSAs,
investigators, paralegals, and
staff will continue to
safeguard the Southern
District’s enduring tradition
of integrity and
independence.”
For now we
note, because others haven't,
the ethical issues that have
been raised by SDNY Judge
Alison Nathan about the
Office's non compliance with
Brady leading to the dropping
with prejudice of the
sanctions violations guilty
verdicts against Iranian
banker Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad,
on a Venezuelan housing
project, here.
Inner City Press,
which closely covers the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
(as well as the EDNY, IMF and
UN) immediately wondered what
having an ex-SEC chairman
might mean for cases in the
SDNY like those against
Telegram, or alleged North
Korea sanctions violator
Virgil Griffith.
But now,
of course, there are other
questions. Watch this site.
But while
we will be reporting on this
going forward it's worth
noting mid-fight Geoffrey
Berman's hands-on approach,
seen most recently in the
Coronavirus pandemic.
In March,
when many had already fled the
courthouse at 500 Pearl Street
and Inner City Press was alone
in the back row of the
Magistrates Court on the fifth
floor, in came Berman, to
check out how presentments
work.
Not much before,
he had slipped into a Bronx
drug murder case that only
Inner City Press was covering,
to witness the rare cross
examination of the defendant
who took the stand. He spoke,
too, on the
elevator.
One improvement,
whoever is in for the next
months, that could and should
be brought would be the
automatic provision of the
exhibits the SDNY prosecutors
use in trials, when they
resume. This has still not
been done in the OneCoin
case, despite a FOIA
request from Inner City Press.
And why is the case against
Honduras' El Tigre Bonilla,
announced April 30, still
sealed?
These and other
issues will be continued to be
raised. Watch this site.
***
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